An integrative analysis of microplastics and tire and road wear particles in spider webs and road dust in an urban environment using μFTIR and pyr-GSMS

Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic fragments less than 5 mm in size, are present in most ecosystems, posing potential environmental hazards. This research aims to quantify and analyze the concentration and composition of MPs in road dust and spider webs within various urban settings in using parking lots in Uppsala, Sweden. Utilizing µFTIR hyperspectral imaging (Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) microscopy coupled with a Focal Plane Array (FPA)), this study investigates MPs (10–500 µm) across different urban functionalities, including commercial, residential, industrial, and recreational parking lots. The same samples will be analyzed with Pyr-GSMS for tire and road wear particle concentration. A custom-made sampling device (Dusty) was constructed to collect road dust, enabling the quantification of MPs that settle on the ground, while spider webs were collected to quantify airborne MPs. The FTIR results uncovered significant variations in MP concentrations; for example, the road dust held concentrations ranging from 6 to 4951 MP counts g⁻¹ with a median value of 156 counts g⁻¹. When quantified by mass, the concentration spanned between 0.06 and 95.3 µg g⁻¹ with a median of 13.7 µg g⁻¹. The spider webs held 2,500 to 505,000 counts g⁻¹, with a median value of 20,800 counts g⁻¹ or by mass, 40 to 586,000 µg g⁻¹ with a median of 1,360 µg g⁻¹. Furthermore, an indoor enclosed parking lot exhibited microplastic counts 31 times higher than those found in an outdoor lot, highlighting the significant difference in microplastic accumulation between indoor and outdoor environments. Moreover, polyurethane was the most dominant polymer, constituting 48.5 Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/559451/document